


Somewhere Only We Know

by GrimLegate



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Asra and Apprentice make a Gate, Custom Apprentice - Freeform, Fluff, Kinda Spoilers for That Point, M/M, Post-Lazaret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 16:51:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimLegate/pseuds/GrimLegate
Summary: With star-strewn trees and halos of silver, we'll gosomewhere only we know.





	Somewhere Only We Know

               “Are you sure about this?”

               “Why wouldn’t I be?”

               It was an obfuscating answer to his question, but when was the other completely straight-forward when it came to magic? He was as good as his teacher when it came to talking in circles, dancing around the target when frustration had begun to garner the upper-hand. The mischievous glibness that filled his teacher’s tone did nothing to placate the steadily growing frustration that filled the boy. He felt as though the instructions were the simplest in the world:

               Simple – make a gate of his own.

               Exception – not so simple as the other made it seem.

               Traversing into, and through, Asra’s realm had become a mere trifle, coming as naturally as breathing to the boy. But, it was easy to walk through someone’s home – not so easy to build a new one. The placating touch of the other’s languid fingers drifting down the apprentice’s pale skin did nothing to soothe the ire that was steadily building, and Grimm had no doubt that he could call a blaze into existence if he willed it so.

               A twitch settled into his brow, standing there, feeling more and more inept as time went on. He whipped around to his teacher, lilac eyes blinking owlishly at the sudden violence of his actions.

               “Didn’t you say you were young when you made yours? Then why am _I_ having so much trouble?” He demanded, less expectant, and more upset at the sudden feeling of inadequacy that was striking through his heart like a hot iron. Pale lashes curtained the tender gaze, and despite the warmth and love in such a look, it only partway extinguished the blaze. The sun-kissed hands took the student’s own, thumbs swiping over the skin, moving to stroke slowly at the inside of their wrist.

               “I was young… but, I was practicing magic before I could walk.” He hummed, paying no heed to the biting tone of his lover’s words. Asra laced their fingers together, and like every time before, felt the tingle of their magic mingling together. It was the closest to having their souls touch, and he thought that it might have been a suitable enough replacement. He let himself be the water to his fire, lapping at the tongue of flame, until it guttered, and left only smoke in its wake. He could see the angry tears that filled the other’s eyes, stooping to kiss them away from his heart.

               “You also weren’t so… intensely focused, on running away.” He murmured, letting the messy tangle of curls smoosh against the other’s forehead, the two spending a moment just to breathe. Grimm understood the other, understood that he was too harsh on himself, understood he was expecting so much out of someone with so little.

               “Do you believe in me?”  Those sea glass eyes staring up at Asra melted his heart, feeling the throb in his chest at the love that flowed from him to the other, sharing his answer before his mind could even think of the words to say.

               “What reason have I not to?” He whispered, nosing his way through the locks, so dark they almost hid the fiery tones beneath, and brushed a feather soft kiss against his forehead. A fluttering feeling also grazed Grimm’s jaw, turquoise eyes jerking to see the ever-smiling face of a very content snake.

               “See? Faust thinks so too.” Not a moment too soon did he feel the familiar tickle in the back of his mind, and her little body wriggled happily before diving back into the folds of Asra’s shirt.

               _“Believe!”_

               The pair shared a look for a long moment, gazes drawn lidded, hands holding on to the warmth and the connection that each of them shared before the younger broke it, stepping back to where he had been standing before. He looked around, once more unsure of his abilities – of himself. His eyes settled on Asra, and his gaze pleading.

               “Can’t you share some of your magic?”

               “You don’t need it.” It was the straightest answer he had gotten out of the other so far – as well as the one he didn’t want to hear at that moment. The other let his displeasure speak for itself, the crinkle in his nose making his lover laugh. Grimm closed his eyes, feeling for the dangling thread of magic and snagging hold of it. All of his anger had unraveled the careful work he had been laboring over for what had felt like a millennia.

               And now, he was forced to start over.

               He started at the base, envisioning one of the enormous tapestries that hung in the palace, grandiose and regal. He didn’t know if it was conventional or not, but it was what he had imagined when the other had said to ‘weave’ his magic into creation. Each strand felt like grains of sand slipping through his fingertips. He felt as though he was back on Lazaret, sifting through the piles of ashes in search of _one_ that could be him.

               “You’re trying too hard.”

               The furrow in his brow released, and were it not for the next command, his eyes would have opened and truly destroyed the concentration he held.

               “Don’t open your eyes.” He whispered, situating himself behind his student. Grimm felt the lean arms ensnare his midriff, the curve of his jaw settling pleasantly into his shoulder. “What does this feel like?”

               At first, he didn’t understand what the other meant. But the soothing warmth, the comfort of the other surrounding him was clear once the thick fog of anguish had dissipated. It took him a moment to realize, but the pieces fell into place.

               A tapestry was too much, sure if he could finish it, it would be magnificent, and luxurious, but it would chafe. It would chafe at him like the Palace had, the large rooms and the larger than life attitude that filled the structures, haunted the rooms, had nearly driven him mad in the time he spent there.

               He needed something smaller, more comfortable.

               Conjuring up the mental image of his favorite quilt was child’s play. The gift that had been given by the baker’s generous wife to an ill Grimm, that Asra had cloaked him in when his thirst for his own memories would destroy him. It laid on _their_ bed, _theirs_ even more now, that he remembered. He thought of curling up beneath it, the patterns and threading he had traced on sleepless nights. The warmth that it gave, taking nothing in return.

               It was smaller, sure, but there was not a _thing_ wrong with that.

               The pattern took on a new shape, and with it came the difference he had been looking for. One square, then two, until he finally had unraveled the last spun thread of his magic, into something greater. And when he opened his eyes, the small forest clearing had disappeared from view.

               And starlit strands of forest lit the way for miles.

               The night sky shone impossibly bright, and in that moment, he felt impossibly _small._ The heaven’s themselves seemed to swirl above, their light distant, and cold, but the warmth permeating the plane held fast. The trees, though barren of leaves to their tips, glimmered bright with clusters of tiny flowers.

               “Grimm?” The boy barely had time to turn, seeing the star struck visage of his lover lunging toward him, knocking him down into the soft loam. Grimm could barely get a word in edge-wise before he felt the soft grace of smiling lips planting themselves upon his own, asking for a gift he knew the other would always freely give. The act broke the thought of not having to breathe in these strange worlds, his gasping breath a ghost of a memory from the real experience.

               He was glad he remembered he didn’t need to, he didn’t think he could, after seeing Asra’s face. Staring down at him, the silver locks of his hair lit up in a Celestine halo, and the light of the stars reflecting in a venerable nebula of lavender. Asra’s eyes darted around with child-like glee, shuffling off of the other onto his knees.

               It was so different compared to the vibrant and overly saturated colors of his own gate, but the feeling, the atmosphere was so much of the other that there was no way he couldn’t feel at peace in the soft light surrounding them. He felt surrounded by his lover, the presence that he had come to understand, to crave, hung over the area. He wondered if the other had experienced the same feeling when they have rendezvoused in his own domain. He offered his hands to the other, feeling the soft pale fingers squeeze his own as they rose from the soft loam that surrounded them.

               Asra found the stars reflected in Grimm’s eyes, staring for a long moment to map the constellations of this foreign realm. Despite the darkness surrounding them, there was nothing eerie or disconcerting about the thick dusk that cloaked them. Grimm’s mouth opened, hesitating in asking for the other’s praise, for his approval, before the man in question suffocating him in a tight hug, bubbling, excited laughter rising up from his chest.

               “How wonderful… it’s more magical than I could have imagined.” He murmured, his hands coming to cup the face that he worshiped, grazing his thumbs over the other’s cheeks. “How beautiful of a world you’ve brought to creation… I couldn’t be prouder.” His whispered adoration was enough to make Grimm’s heart jump in his chest, and a shy smile graced his lips.

               Taking hold of Asra’s hand, he stepped away, looking to the horizon. He wondered what lie on the fringes of his gate, and if the pair of them could make something even more beautiful.

               “Let’s make something more… together.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this please leave a kudos/comment, and check out my other stories!


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